February 25, 2002 - Governor Ventura today vetoed a budget-balancing bill that he called "irresponsible." The bill uses one-time money and spending cuts to address a nearly two-billion dollar projected budget deficit. But that deficit grew even larger today, after a new revenue forecast estimated the shortfall at nearly two-point-three billion dollars. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum joins me now from the Capitol with an update on today's budget developments.
February 19, 2002 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews co-author Paul Larson about "Cap Wigington: An Architectural Legacy in Ice and Stone," a Minnesota Historical Society publication. In interview, Larson highlights accomplishments of the noted African American architect.
February 15, 2002 - Complaints against nursing homes in Minnesota increased 35 percent last year. The = office of the Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans says the agency settled 24-hundred complaints in 2001. The Ombudsman program was started under federal law in 1978 to be an advocate for nursing-home residents. Ombudsman Sharon Zoesch says most complaints involve residents' rights and quality of care:
February 12, 2002 - Duluth resident John Bauer finished 12th today in the men's Olympic 15 kilometer classical cross-country ski race. It's the highest finish for an American man in an Olympic cross country ski event since Bill Koch won a silver medal in the 1976 games. This is Bauer's third Olympics. He said the crowd at Soldier Hollow was a big factor in his strong finish:
February 11, 2002 - A special Jewish scribe is helping restore torah scrolls for Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul. The rolled parchment contains the five books of the Jewish Bible, handwritten in Hebrew. Animal skins are used as parchment and wrapped up around wooden rollers. An ornately decorated silk bag is placed over the scroll for beauty and protection. Neil Yerman is one of only a handful of people in the world know how to restore a torah. He was hired by Mount Zion to repair four of their torahs.
February 8, 2002 - Charles Lindbergh's grandson is planning to replicate his grandfather's famous solo trans-Atlantic flight. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh, who grew up in Little Falls, flew the single-engine "Spirit of St. Louis" from New York to Paris in 33 and 1/2 hours. Erik Lindbergh says he first came up with the idea for the flight several years ago, but abandoned it when he was diagnosed with rhuematoid arthritis:
February 5, 2002 - Friends and family today remembered DFL state Representative Darlene Luther as a good friend and mother. The 54-year-old lawmaker died last week after a three-month battle with stomach cancer. Issues she championed include the Family Child Tax Credit which provides tax relief if one parent stays home. She also pushed to make organ donation easier. Luther is married to Sixth District Congressman Bill Luther. House Chaplain Lonnie Titus provided the funeral eulogy:
February 5, 2002 - A Rochester man is coordinating health programs for Afghani refugees in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Frank Anderson, Jr. arrived in Pakistan less than a month ago to provide humanitarian work through Minnesota based American Refugee Committee. He spent last week helping Afghani refugees in Kabul, Afghanistan. Anderson says that ever since Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped, he and other expatriates are feeling a little less safe:
January 21, 2002 - Many Minnesotan's celebrated Martin Luther King day by attending speeches, rallies and concerts. Many of today's speakers spoke about the continuing struggle for civil rights. Former President of the Minneapolis N-double-A-C-P chapter, Bill Davis, says immigrants from Africa, South America and Asia are changing Minnesota's ethnic make-up. Davis says the state has made some civil rights gains, but there is always room for improvement:
January 17, 2002 - St. Paul resident Sara Jane Olson and three other members of the Symbionese Liberation Army will be arraigned in Sacramento tomorrow on charges of first degree murder. Federal officials yesterday arrested Olson, Emily and Bill Harris, and Michael Bortin for murdering Myrnal Opsahl during a bank robbery in Carmichael, California in 1975. Before tomorrow's hearing in Sacramento, Olson will be sentenced in Los Angeles for her role in a failed attempt to blow up L-A police cars in 1975. Court documents filed yesterday include an interview Patty Hearst gave the F-B-I in 1976 detailing her version of the robbery. Hearst has admitted participating in the heist and was granted immunity in the case. Sam Stanton has been following the story for the Sacramento Bee. He says in the court documents Patty Hearst claims Emily Harris shot Myrna Opsahl: